I mentioned before how graduation stuff kind of felt like groundhog day in a way this year.  

So many of the same events as last year but with my girl rather than with my boy.
Baccalaureate was my very favorite part of graduation last year so this year I was wondering if it could live up to the hype 🙂
But oh boy it sure did.
It is held just a few days before actual graduation and is the more spiritual meeting…kind of like a nondenominational service.  It’s also held inside the school because the attendance isn’t nearly as high as the actual graduation.
I think they may need to re-think that next year though because it was jam-packed with crowds packed like sardines in the back (they ran out of seats within the first few minutes).  I think word keeps getting around each year how great it is so it just gets to be a bigger and bigger event.  
Anyway, our high school is really quite outstanding in the music department, so they just do such an outstanding job with that, and once again, I adored the great advice given in the talks.  
Here we are waiting for it to begin…right before the bagpipes came in.

 The Principal up there.

…and the teacher selected by the students to speak up there (he was an economics teacher and gave such a great talk!

It was a beautiful program that I don’t have time to upload video of, but there are some videos of the music last year back HERE if you care to listen to the caliber of the stuff I’m talking about (last year with Max.)

Once again, it made me tear up and be grateful all over again.  For this school, for music, for all the great friends who have surrounded Elle over all these years, and for this girl we get to call our own:

…for my mom and Josh who we got to have come along with us (my mom was in town that weekend for the Flips performance (back here), this, and seminary graduation which is coming next).

After the ceremony we went out take a bazillion pictures amidst the swarms of other families trying to capture the kids their kids have learned from and loved for so long.

I thought the crowds taking the pictures were as great as the crowds being photographed 🙂

New high school friends:

 Growing-up forever friends:

The boys:

Love these boys and the influences they’ve had on Elle.

All smart and kind and good…they are going to go places in life I tell you.

Graduation this time around was extra fun for me as a mom because I’ve known so many of Elle’s friends moms for so many years.

We’ve been through a lot together coping and worrying and celebrating and loving all these kids with all our hearts.

Yes, a little overboard with the pictures but I’m out of time to weed out…and all these kids are just so dang great.  
I love these oldest kids of mine are at the age I remember I was all those years ago.  How I adored those kids who influenced my life in so many ways I didn’t have any clue about at graduation.  They have continued to shape who I am because of who they were for my whole life…the guys who I have sadly lost more touch with as well as the girls who I still get together with whenever we can.  But whether I see them regularly or not,  I’m forever grateful for all they taught me in those formative years.
Which makes me doubly grateful for these kids molding and mentoring and loving my own kids.  I know enough to know that their influence lasts well beyond high school and Elle will take so much of them with her as she continues on this journey of life whether they are there physically by her side or not.

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13 Comments

  1. This is super random…I'm sorry! But if you get a minute would you pretty please tell me where you got the tile for your laundry room floor? I'm trying to do something similar in a game room and having a hard time finding that. I'm here in AZ…so could source a similar location if you got it locally.

    Oh…and I'm so glad you are back to blogging after your break…I enjoy seeing your posts and hearing all about your kids adventures!

    jen@photojenic.net (if you can link me to a tile source…) THANK YOU!!!

  2. That is a lot of parties. Seminary graduation, the ward party, the baccalaureate, golden scholar, the actual graduation, several mission calls, the actual individual graduation parties..it sounds like a scheduling nightmare.

    1. I believe it' s not that hard to schedule, since it's a large group and everyone goes to the same event. Like the school knows not to do the actual graduation on the same day of the baccalaureate etc.

    2. I meant schedule to attend for the graduates with jobs, siblings with acitivites of their own, and the parents. It a lot of taking off work.

    3. Yes kms you're right it's a lot. May is always crazier than Christmas in my mind with all the end of school hoopla but it sure is fun, and I'm so glad to have something wonderful like a graduation to celebrate! Everyone is busy and therefore people can't make it to everything but that's just fine, it all works out.

    4. Must there be three formal faith based graduation gestures in addition to the graduation in itself? It might be fine from the perspective of those who make it but don't you think it might it be stressful for those who can't and miss out or those who really have to sacrifice work benefit time and the stress of getting working done in order to take off and the loss of family time to juggle so many celebrations? Is life just a series of parties? Isn't there celebration fatigue? And then there is needing to take off to take the kid to college, taking time off to be home a little when they come home on break, visits to colleges earlier in the year before making the final decision, and all the ordinary reasons to take off like being sick or family vacation/reunions.

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